Telegraph transmitter



J. B. KiTcHENs TELEGRAPH TRANSMITTER Filed Feb. 27. 1934 INVENTOR, /3. Md: fi

BY I

A TTORNE YS.

Dec. 25, 1934.

The invention resides in the novel arrangeiPatented Dec. 25, 1934 1,985,640

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TELEGRAPH TRANSMITTER Jennings B. Kitchens, Tucson, Ariz.

Application February 27,1934, Serial No. 713,096

6 Claims. (Cl. 17817) The present invention relates to improvements stations as desired may be connected with the in printing telegraph apparatus of the type in pair-of wires designated L and representing the which the operator, by manipulating a keyboard outside line leading to said distant stations, each similar to that ofa typewriter, causes the mes- 5 sage to be printed, at both home and distant The complete station comprises a keyboard des-.- stations, in letters corresponding to the manipulated keys.

The mechanism of these machines is well pr'inter relay R. known in the art, and is illustrated and described transmitting distributor D, a printer 1?, and'a improvements constituting the present invention, the principal object of which is to provide, tug k w in the art as Teletype machines. The

in association with the keyboard sending apparatus, a perforated p transmitter, so t a altered and has therefore been omitted from the sage, which has been previously transferred to di sufliee it to say that when any given a perforated tape, may be sent over the line and key is depressed certain of t distributor Prin d at o h h me and di n ti By tacts 1 and 2 are mechanically held open, and at means of y improvement, the Same line and the the same time the distributor cam cylinder 3 is Sa printing mechanism, at both home and caused to make one complete revolution, by the 20 distant stations, are used for the transmission mechanism 4 which causes t t be clutched t and printing of messages sent by the tape t motor driven continuously rotating member 5. mitter as well as for those sent by the manual During the rotation f said. cylinder 3, t cams keyboardr thus effecting a great saving both 6 operate the contacts 1 and 2 successively, those cost of installatlon and 1n the Space requlred in which have been held open by the depressed key 25 th telegraph room; remaining inoperative or open, and the remaining The tape transmlttel e p a well known ones being closed momentarily by their respective type in which eaeh letter 5 represented by e cams. The result is that a series of irregularly transverse row o e f Pe in Paper tape timed impulses are sent out, the irregularity the number and relative positions in the row of thereof being determined by the depressed perforations forming various combinations to In practice, these impulses e termed marking represent the various letters and symbols of the alphabet.- The tape is advanced intermittently, and at=each pause the-proper combination of contacts is established through the perforations.

impulses, and the periods during which no contact is made due to the mechanical holding open of the contacts 1 and 2 by the depressed key, are termed spacing impulses. The combinative sequence of marking andspacing impulses, occurring in a definite period of time, i. e. during one revolution of the cam cylinder, when transmitted to the printer, causes it to set up and brint the letter corresponding to the depressed key.

The above describes the usual and well known ment of electrical connections by which the tape transmitter is combined with the keyboard transmitter, andin certain modifications in said transmitters, by which either may'be used as the'sending instrument. It is to be understood that chan es, within .the ice e of the claims h r appgended may be madepin the form construction and operation of prmtmg telegraphs struction and ,arran ement herein shown and of the type to which my invention is applied. described, without de parting from the spirit of The P e P d relay R e unalteredand 45 the invention hence their \CODS'CIUCUOII may be om tted entirely. Reference be made to the accompanying It iS suflicient to bear that, when a series drawing, in which the figure is a diagram illusf m 8 and p mg mipulses are sent over trating such mechanical parts and electrical cirthe Wires 7 and and the line the D er will i cuits as are essential to a proper understanding p r to pr t One l t er, the first impulse'of the of the invention. Other parts, which are standri in t e Printer mechanism to start its I ard articles of manufacture and which form no cycle of operation, and the succeeding impulses 1 part of the invention, are omitted for the sake of *causing it to select and print the proper letter. i simplicity and clearness.

' 5 only, it being understood that as many distant mitter T and the mechanism described above.

mechanical construction of the keyboard is unsuch station being identical with that illustrated.

ignated by the letter K, a tape transmitter T, a h

The keyboard, distributor, relay, and printer m herein only to an extent necessary to show the are the same, with certain changes hereinafter described, as used in printing telegraph appara- The novelty of my apparatus maybe said to. The diagram represents one complete station begin with the relation between the tape trans-- The tape transmitter-T itself is of standard construction, 8 and 9 being contacts operable through the perforations in the tape 10, and 11 being magnets for advancing the tape and operating the contacts 8 and 9. To this usual structure I have added a tape controlled switch 12 and a relay 13, the contacts of said switch being held closed by the lever 14 as long as the tape is running slack through the machine, but opening when the slack in the tape-runs out and it frees said lever.

The distributor Dis of usual construction. In the type shown, there are six contact operating cams, one of which, 6s, operates the start contacts 1s and 2s, and the remaining flve operate the contacts for controlling the marking and spacing impulses. The cam cylinder 3 is provided with a jaw clutch 15, which is operated by the lever 16 to engage the continuously rotating member 5. As described above, when any key of the keyboard is depressed, the lever 4 is moved by a mechanical connection, not shown, and this movement in turn moves the lever 16 to cause the clutch 15 to engage. At the end of one complete revolution of the cam cylinder, the clutch is automatically disengaged.

I have added to this usual structure a pair of magnets 1'7, whose armature 18 is attached to the clutch lever 16, so that when said magnets are energized, the clutch is engaged, and the cam cylinder makes one revolution. The magnets 17 are energized, in a manner to be explained later, by the tape transmitter T, so that they perform the same function for the tape transmitter as the lever 4 for the keyboard, i. e. they cause the distributor cylinder to make one revolution.

I have also added an extra pair of contacts '19 to the distributor, operated by one of the cams 6 in such a manner that they will be closed while the distributor is at rest, but will be opened im-, mediately upon the beginning of the revolution of the cam cylinder 3, and will remain open until its revolution is almost complete.

The cam operated contacts 1 and 18 of the distributor are all connected with the wire 7, which leads directly to the line L. The corresponding contacts 2, which in the usual keyboard transmitter are also connected together, are, in my novel arrangement, separated from each other and connected individually by separate wires 20 with the respective contacts 8 of the tape transmitter. The corresponding contacts 9 of said tape transmitter are all connected with the wire '7' leading from the distributor start contact 28 to the line through the printer relay R.

The clutch operating magnets 17, the extra distributor contacts 19, and the tape transmitter operating magnets 11 are connected in series in a circuit 22, which includes a source of current 23 and a resistance 24 preferably of about 550 ohms. This resistance 24 is shunted by the contacts 25 of the relay 13. The magnet 26 of said relay is energized by a circuit 27 which includes the tape controlled switch 12, a source of current 28, and a resistance 29 of about 200 ohms.

As I have before stated, the details of the printer P and its relay R form no part of my invention, and have therefore been omitted from the drawing. It will be suflicient to bear in mind that the printers, both at the home and distant .ed depends upon the combination of marking and spacing impulses in the series. Likewise, the

mechanical construction of the keyboard K forms no part of my invention, and has also been omitted.

In the operation of the apparatus, the line circuit is normally closed by the distributor start contacts 1s and 2s when the contactidrum 3 is at rest, and a current from any-suitable source, not shown, flows in the line L. The remaining distributor contacts 1 and 2 are normally open. When a message is to be sent from the keyboard K, the depression of any key thereof, through its mechanical connection, not shown, with the lever 4, causes the clutch 15 to engage and the drum 3 to make one revolution. The rotating of said drum first opens the start contacts 1s and 2s, thereby interrupting the line current and causing the printer to start its operation in the usual well known manner. The continued rotation of the drum, through the balance of its single revolution, successively closes, momentarily, such of the contacts 1 and 2 as have not been locked open mechanically by the depressed key, thereby successively closing and opening the line in a certain time sequence, and operating the printer to set up and print the proper letter, through the wire I, said contacts 1 and2', the wires 20, the tape transmitter contacts 8 and 9 (which are normally closed when no tape is being run) and the wire '7. At the end of its single revolution, the drum 3 comes to rest by automatically releasing its clutch, the start contacts ls and 2s are again closed, and the machine is ready for the depression of another key. The above cycle of operations is exactly the same as in standardkeyboard machines, except that the line current flows through the normally closed tape transmitter contacts 8 and 9.

In sending a message from perforated tape, the

the relay 13, causing it to shunt the resistance 24 and increase the current in the circuit 22, thereby energizing the magnets 17 to engage the clutch 15 and start the revolution of the distributor drum 3. The distributor contacts 1 and 2 are thereupon all successively closed and opened (the keyboard being out of operation, none of said contacts is mechanically held open) but certain of the tape contacts 8 and 9 are held open by the tape 10, and as said tape contacts 8 and 9 are in series with the distributor contacts 1 and 2, a series of impulses is sent out, the sequence thereof being determined by the, relative positions of the perforations in the tape.

The revolution of the distributor drum 3 also opens the contacts 19, which remain open until just before the end of the revolution, when they are again closed to cause another cycle of operations to begin. The opening and closing of the circuit 22 at the contacts 19 also causes the tape transmitter magnets 11 to advance the tape and. operate the contacts 8 and 9 in the usual manner. Therefore, as long as the tape controlled switch 12 is held closed by the tape running through the transmitter, its operation is continuous and automatic. When the slack runs out of the tape and allows the lever 14 to be raised, the contacts of switch 12 are opened, which stops the machine. The lever 14 is preferably placed outside the transmitter T in such a position that it can be operated manually, thereby enabling the operator to run mutilated tape step by step.

It will be seen from the foregoing that my invention not only enables a printer circuit to included in a single circuit; contacts operated by be operated by either a keyboard or a tape transmitter, but that it makes use of a single distributor for both keyboard or tape operation, thereby effecting a substantial saving in'cost. Moreover, my invention can be applied, at small cost, to existing machines, it being necessary merely to add the clutch operating magnets l7 and the extra contacts 19 to the ordinary distributor, to make the simple connections 20 and '7 between the contacts of the tape transmitter and the distributor, and to add the control circuit 22 with it's switch 12 and relay 13. a

I claim:

1. In a. telegraph sending apparatus having a distributor provided with contacts arranged to send impulses over the line and a keyboard for controlling said contacts, said keyboard having a mechanical connection with said distributor for controlling itsoperation; an electrically operated perforated tape transmitter having contacts adapted to be controlled by the perforations ofa tape; electrical connections between said tape contacts and said distributor 7 contacts whereby the line impulses are controlled by the tape independently of said keyboard; electric means for controlling the operation of said distributor independently of its mechanical control by said keyboard; a single electrical circuit including the operating means of said tape transmitter and the electrical controlling means for said distributor connected in series; and means for controlling said circuit.

2. A telegraph sending apparatus comprising a distributor having contacts arranged to send impulses over the line; a perforated tape transmitter having contacts connected with said distributor contacts whereby the line impulses are controlled by the perforations of atape; electrical means the operation of said distributor said means being the distributor for opening and closing said circuit; and other contacts operated by the tape for controlling said circuit.

4. A telegraph sending apparatus comprising a distributor having contacts arranged to send impulses over the line; a perforated tape transmitter having contacts connected with said distributor contacts whereby the line impulses are controlled by the perforations of a tape; electrical means for operating said tape transmitter and controlling the operation of said distributor; an electric circuit including the distributor controlling means and the tape transmitter operating means; contacts operated by the distributor for opening and closing said circuit to control the tape transmitter operating means; a relay for I connections between said'tape contacts and said distributor contacts whereby the line impulses are controlled by the tape independently of said keyboard; electric means for controlling the operation of said distributor independently of its mechanical control by said keyboard; a single elec trical circuit including the operating'means of said tape transmitter and the electrical controlling means for said distributor; and contacts operated by said distributor and included in said circuit for controlling the same.

6'. A telegraph sending apparatus comprising a distributor having contacts arranged to send impulses over the line; a perforated tape transmitter having contacts connected with said distributor contacts whereby the line impulses are controlled by the perforations of a tape; electrical means for operating said tape transmitter and controlling the operation of said distributor; an electric circuit including the distributor control- 'trolled'by the perforations of a tape; electrical ling means and the tape transmitter operating means; and a relay operated by the tape for controlling said circuit.

JENNINGS B. KITCHENS. 

